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(No Model.) 7 Y F. 0. BROWN.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS 0. BROWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,411, dated July 13,1886.

' Application filed March 18, 1886. Serial No. 195,717. (No niodel.)

T aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS OASHEL BROWN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, in the county ofNew York and State OfNBWYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens; and I do declare the following to be a fnll, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and. figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for" its object certain improvements in that class offountain-pens in which the ink is fed to the top of the pen; anditconsists, essentially, in a novel arrangement of feed-bar incombination with the ink reservoir or fount and the nozzle or penpointsection, substantially as herinafter fully described.

The invention further consists in a novel arrangement of air-vent andconstruction of vent-tube, substantially as hereinafter fully described.

The invention further consists in the combination,with the ink fount orreservoir, of a cut-off valve, substantially as hereinafter fullydescribed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure'l is a side elevation ofa pen embodying a portion of my improvements. Fig. 2is a longitudinalvertical central section of Fig.

1. Fig. 3 is a like view showing an improved arrangement of feed-barwhen the valve is not used. Fig. 4 is an outer end view of the pen.Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sections of the pen, taken on lines w and0c :0 of Fig. 2, the valvebeingshown openin Fig. 6. Figs. 7 and 8 aretransverse sections of the nozzle, showingadifferent arrangement ofair-vents. Figs. 9 and 10 show by a top and under side plan view,respectively, one form of feed-bar. Fig. 11 shows by an isometric viewanother form of feed-bar.

In the above drawings, and referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2,and 6, A indicates the pen section or nozzle; B, the ink reserg voir orfount screwed to the nozzle, as usual,

and S the shield or guard for the pen-point when not in use.

The nozzle A has a front wall or plug, a, that forms the seat for thepen-point D, and F is the feed-bar arranged above the penpoint. The pluga may be constructed of a rigid or a flexible material-sucl1 as hardrubber or soft rubber or cork-and forms a sufficiently tight joint toprevent ink from the fount passing between the pen and the plug.

The feed-bar F is constructed with an enlargement, f, that lies over thepen point, the rear of said feed-bar extending into the nozzle in rearof the plug a.

The necessary air to be supplied to the nozzle or fount to cause aproper flow of ink mav I be admitted through a small hole formed in theperiphery of the nozzle, as in Fig. 7; ora vent-tube, E, may be insertedin the hole, which should preferably be located at a point in theperiphery of the nozzle oppositeto the line of how and exit of the ink,and preferably as close to the plug a as possible. The air-vent may alsobe formed in the plug a, or a venttube inserted in said plug.

When the vent or vent-tube is located in the periphery of the nozzle,there may be a liability of the ink oozing out of the vent and soilingthe hands, and when the vent or venttube is located in the plug or frontwall, a, of the nozzle this will fill with ink and prevent the air fromentering the fount, thereby sus pending the flow of ink to the fount.

It is well known that in this class of pens it is necessary to shake thepen more or less violently to cause the ink to flow along the feed-barwhen the pen has been out of use for some time. When an air-vent isemployed that is located in a plane parallel with that of the flow ofthe ink to the pen, the ink, on shaking the pen for the purposesdescribed, is projected through the vent or vent-tube, fills the sameup, and stops the supply of air to the fount or reservoir, when itbecomes necessary to invert the pen and clean the vent. Thesedifficulties I'overcorne by the use of a vent-tube, E, that projectsinto the nozzle and has its end 6 within said nozzle bent, andpreferably bent in the direction of the flow of ink to the pen, whetherthe vent-tube is applied to the plug or the periphery of the 1102- zle,as shown. The vent-tube may also belocated in the periphery of the fountand bent so as to extend forward into the nozzle, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 3.

One of the great inconveniences found in this class of pens is that theflow of ink while writing is often so great as to cause the ink to dropfrom the pen-points. To overcome this dit'liculty I use a feed-bar, F,of such alength hat when introduced into the nozzle or pen section itwill lie with its rear end in an inclined plane extending from a pointabove the shank or rear end of the pen rearwardly and downwardly incont-act with the periphery of the nozzle or the fount, as shown in Fig.3. This inclination of the feed-bar across the passage of the nozzle orfount, or both, maybe obtained in various ways,-either by bending thefeed bar at a point in rear of the pen or its shank or by forming withinthe passage of the nozzle an abutment or shoulder, a, under which thefeed-bar is passed, and that holds the same in the inclined position, asshown in Fig. 3, to hold the body of ink from exerting its full pressurein the exit-passage of the pen. The feed bar may be made of even widththroughout, except that portion which lies over the pen, or of suchwidth that its lateral edges will lie in contact with the walls of thenozzle or l'ount, or both; or said feed-bar may be made narrower thanthe passage in the nozzle or t'ount. A somewhat similar result may beobtained by the use of a cut-oli' valve, as hereinafter explained.

In this class of pens as usually constructed I find that the ink willnot readily flow back from the pen into the fount, and to cause said inkto flow back into said l'ount more readily 1 form in the upper face ofthe feed bar a groove or ink-duet, f, which I find promotes the flow ofink toward the fount or reservoir without feeding ink to the top of thefeed-bar, said groove extending preferably from a point in rear of theenlarged portion of said bar to its inner end. In its under side the barmay be provided with grooves or tissuresf, to form ink-ducts to conveythe ink from the fount to the top of the pen, though that is notessentially necessary, yet I prefer it, especially when the feed-barlies in close proximity to or in absolute contact with the pen D. Tostill iurther regulate the flow of ink to the pen D, and thereby toprevent too large a volume of ink being fed to the pen, I form in theunder side of the feed -bar transverse grooves f which I callretardingducts, as they practically retard the How of ink while theyhold at all times the necessary volume of ink to supply the pen D whilewriting.

I have stated above that the feed-bar F has an enlarged portiou,f, thatlies immediately above the pen D. This enlargement I make of such widthas to flt closely the walls of the nozzle above the plug to form a tightjoint between the space above and below the feedbar or between saidspace above the feed-bar and the pen D, so as to prevent ink frompassing along the edges of the feed'bar and pen or between said edgesto'the upper face of said feedbar, which would tend to produce too freea flow ,of ink. This may also be obtained by giving to the enlargedportionfof the feedbar F substantially the form of a pen,as shown inFig. 11, its upper face being flat to leave a passage between it and thewall ofthe nozzle A.

Inasmuch as the enlarged portionfof the feed bar fits tightly into thenozzle above the pen, its inclination to bisect the interior passage ofsaid nozzle may be obtained by forming an enlargement, f, at a pointabout midway of its shank or portion in rear of the en'- largementfiot'about the same diameter as the bore of the nozzle, such enlargementforming a fulcrum-point.

Instead of the projection or shoulder to give the feed-bar the necessaryinclination, a pin may be passed through the nozzle, as will be readilyunderstood.

In the class of pens to which this invention relates there is usually noprovision made to entirely cut off the supply of ink to the pen.

\Vhen these pens are to be carried on the person, it is necessary tocarry them with the pen-points upward to prevent the usual cap thatprotects the pen-pointsagainst injury from filling with ink. To avoidthis difficulty, and also to enable me to use a tubular open-endedshield or guard for the pen-points, which materially reduces the cost ofconstruction of the pen, I employ in the nozzle, or reservoir if nonozzle is employed, a disk-valve, V, pivoted therein as close aspossible to the front wall or plug,a,ofthepen. One ofthe pivots oi thevalve has a squared or flattened end, 12, Figs. 1 and 6, to afford ahold for asuitable key, by means of which the valve is rotated; or saidpivot may be provided with a button or other suitable device forrotating the same. I prefer, however, to flatten the pivot and slot theend of the tubular shield orguard S, as shown at 8, Figs. 1, 2, and 4,thus adapting the shield for use as a key, said shield S consisting ofan open-ended tube, which to lit the pivot may be contracted at one end,as shown in Figs. 1 and 4; or, if desired, a suitable key may be tittedto the end of the shield, as shown in Fig. 2. The flattened or key end12 of the valve-pivot may be so positioned relatively to the valve V asto indicate the position of the latter within the fount. For instance,if the flattened end is arranged so as to lie in the plane of the valveit would indicate the position of the latter within the nozzle, as it isobvious that when said flattened pivot 1) lies in the plane of thelongitudinal axis of the pen the valve will lie in a corresponding oropen position, and when said flattened end lies in a plane at rightangles to the valve, the valve will lie in a like position and close thepassage of the nozzle. Yet in manipulating the valve to close thepassage of the nozzle there is a liathe valve abuts when rotated toclose the passage in the fount, thus forming astop that will effectuallyprevent the valve from being carried too far from the position which itshould occupy to close the said passage. If desired,

' longitudinal ribs f may be provided on opposite sides and in front ofthe pivots of the valve and on a line sufficiently below the line of thepivots to permit the valve V when in ahorizontal position to lie on saidribs f, which thus are made to form shoulders or abutments, that preventthe valve from being turned too far down in the act of opening thepassage for the ink to flow to the'peu.

It is obvious that by properly positioning the valve-say, for instance,at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the horizontal-- the saidvalve will serve, like the shank or rear end of the feed-bar F, tosupport the body of ink in the fount,and thereby prevent its exertingits entire pressure in the exit-orifice. as hereinabove described.

Gold pens made especially for use with the various constructions oftopfeed fountain pens have heretofore been used; but with my improvedconstruction of fountain-pen any one of the gold or steel pens now to befound in i the market and adapted to be inserted between the feed-barand plug a may be employed,

, which is a material advantage in this class of pens.

I am aware that it is not new to feed theink from the ink-fount to thetop of the pen by means of a feed-bar overlying said pen. also awarethat feed-bars arranged above the 'pen provided with an enlargement tohold the same in the nozzle or pen-holder section and extending oversaid pen and into the ink-fount have been used prior to my invention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained my invention, what Iclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fountain-pen, a feed-bar projecting into the nozzle or fount inrear of the pen to diagonally bisect the interior passage or bore ofsaid nozzle or fount, for the purpose specified. 4

2. In a fountain-pen, a feed-bar arranged tofeed the ink to the topofthe pen, having the enlargementf fitting tightly in the nozzle or fountabove the front wall or plug,a,thereof, and an attenuated shankextending intothe Iamsaid nozzle or fount to diagonally bisect theinterior passage or bore thereof, for the purposes specified.

3. In a fountain-pen, a feed-bar adapted to feed the ink from the fountto the top of the pen, provided with a groove in its upper face, for thepurpose specified.

4. In a fountain-pen, a feed-bar, F, having one or more grooves formedin the under side of its enlargemei'itf, that extend from the taperingportion thereof toward or to its attenuated shank, substantially as andfor the purpose specified.

5. In a fountain-pen. a feed bar for feeding ink from the fount to thepen, having a longitudinal groove or duct formed in its upper and lowerfaces, and a groove or duct running at an angle to and intersecting thegroove or duct in the under face of the bar. substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

6. A feed-bar for fountain-pens, having the lateral edges of thatportion which lies over the pen turned down and provided with anattenuated extension or shank prrjecting rearwardly from said portion,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

-7. A feed-bar for fountain-pens, having substantially the form of apen. provided with a duct or groove in its upper face and with anattenuated shank extending therefrom, substantially as and for thepurpose specified. v 8.. In a fountain-pen, the combination, with thenozzle or ink-fount, ofa vent-tube in one of the walls thereofprojecting into said nozzle or fount and having its end therein bent asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

9. In a fountain-pen, the combination, with the nozzle or fount, of apivoted disk adapted to beset at an angle to bisect the bore of saidnozzle or fount diagonally and support the body of ink therein and formpassages for the ink from the fount to the pen, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

10. In afountain-pen, the combination, with the fount and nozzle orholder and a plug in the end thereof, forming the seat for the pen, of afeed-bar fitted in said nozzle above the plug, a vent or duct above thefeed-bar and between it and the wall of the nozzle, and a duct or ventbelow said feed-bar and between it and the pen when seated on the plug,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS 0. BROWN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. BOULTER, FRANK M. GREEN.

